Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-10
SEA SOUNDS.
THE MYSTERIOUS VOICES THAT
COME FROM THE DEEP.

Oh EIrnSs-A ne NpAbo " wv
Aurors-The Grnnting Fish-A shark
shat Barks-The Roar OF the Shell.
From the San Francisco can.
Some time ago vessel dropped anchor
I'm Wilmington harbor, and when her men
came to Los Angeles on liberty they told
"a remarkable story, to the effect that when
about 200 miles north of the Sandwich
Islands they heard a series Of curious
sounds, which some thought proceeded
from the water, and others were equally
positive came from the air. One man said
st was a cracking, another that it sound
ed like low music. In fact, all had a dif-
ferent version, and probably the majority
of people put it down as a sailors yarn.
in point OF fact, quite a volume might be
written on the unexplained sounds of ma
ture, and there Is hardly any one but can
festlfy to having heard something that
was difficult to understand and explain.
One of the commonest sounds in the
northern countries is cracking IN the
AIR. This is supposed to come from the
aurora, but has been doubted many times.
Quite recently a European scientist sent
but large number of circulars asking
the people to describe the sounds they
heard during the exhibition OF the aurora.
lThe descriptions varied greatly, but it,
was evident, at least, that the aurora does
produce an audible noise. Many noises,
supposed to be mysterious, can be ex-
Dlained in very simple manner. Thus,
in a certain part of the East a gentleman
noticed that his house shook and the VIM
uows ratified quite audiOly at certain
time each day. AS there was no railroad
In the vicinity the occurrence became
quite the talk OF the place, but finally he
found that at that time each day heavy
dreight train passed a number OF miles
AWAY, and investigation showed that hts
house stood on an outcropping ridge over
another portion of which the train passed,
the sound being thus transmitted.
Who as a child has not wondered at the
musical roar heard when pressing the ear
TO univalve she'll, SO resembling the roar
of the distant waves as to make the Old
fable seem almost fact?
Sounds from the sea are difficult to ex-
plain in many cases, as there are so many
causes to which they may be attributed.
j remember some years ago coming down
eft Salem harbor in Ii yacht, when sud
denly there came report, or sound, so
loud and distinct that / thought a shot
had been fired near The yacht. But there
was not a sail in sight, and IN about a
minute the boom came again; repeated at
quite regular intervals, and gradually
dying away as we moved on, though It was
distinctly heard a mile distant. This phe-
nOmenon has. il is said, given rise to GER
lain strange tales among the sailors along
shore. Some say That years ago an old
man-of-war went down there, and the
guns for help have been fred ever since
bust before "A storm. Others, again, say
that it was a pirate craft whose guns of
Mistress are still heard. The truth is that
she waves have worn the rocky ledge into
u deep hollow, and now, striking below
the surface, cause the loud boom or re.
verberation so plainly heard. Gun rock
is the name gwen the ledge; and up on the
WA}ne coast have heard of another SINH
+: Dscase, and quite a distance from land
X4cNas, so SAID the fishermen, often OF
ht value in warming vessels Oft in a
and letting small boats know their
freabouts.
& "a ftentmes noises that come from the
and are seemingly uneXplanable,
n ceed from certain small animals. That
ny nshes utter sounds is well known;
" many as sixty different species OF finny
pallsts nave been heard from time TO
IA Number OF years ago, while on a fish.
- trip In the Gulf of Mexico, IN the VII
cinity of Yucatan, / hauled in a small
tish known to science as the H@mulOn,
and to sailors as the grunt; and never
was fish better named, as no sooner did
i take it in hand than it rolled a most eX-
pTess:ve pair of eyes as far as a fish could
Toll them, and commenced an appeal that
quite astonished me. First the grunts
were low and uttered singly; then they
grew louder and faster, until finally the
5ish hurled at me periectyolley OF sounds
that accepted as au entreaty for mercy
and hurriedly tossed him back. Later
caught many gruDts, and they were all
very talkative out of water; but whether
these sounds could be uttered in their ma
alive element it would be difficult to de-
aermine.
have heard the Hamulon grunt. the
grouper, as we'll as a number of fishes,
croak, and the dogtish bark lcroak), The
little seahorse, HIppocampus, utters
curious sound that is caused by the vi
brations of certain small voluntary mus
cles. DR.. G. q. Abbott heard the mud
Eunfish, Acantharchus promotis, utter
deep grunting sound, and the giZzard
Bhad makes an audible whirring noise.
The cbub sucker, Erimyzon oblongam,
utters single prolonged note, while the
catfish, Amiurus lynx, produces gentle
bumming sound. Abbott believes, how
ever, that the most musical OF the fishes
IS the eel, that utters single note FIRE.
Quentlv repeated and has slightly me-
tallic resonance.
The TACT that the organ Of hearing in
these musical fishes is very well devel-
the notes were calls; and as the air blad-
der in fishes represents to some extent tue
lungs of other animals, there is no reason
Tor Lot thinking that the fishes have vocal
communication. The musical notes and
noises are produced in several ways.
Some are due TO the action OF the pneu-
matte duct and swimming bladder, while
others are accidental or produced invOl-
unfairly by the lips or the pharangeal or
1ntermaxillary bones. The notes made
by the carp and tench are due 10 the lat
Ter, while those OF the cattishes and eels
are made by forcing air from the SWIM
ming bladder into the esOphagus.
That fishes utter sounds has been known
for many centuries, and some years ago
II was taken advantage OF by a Snowman
at a watering place in England to deceive
the general public. The owner Of tine
talking nsh mad a portable aquarium
upon the beach and In il several fishes,
and when a crowd would gather about tue
tank he would announce that the hsh
would answer questions. He would then
lift one of the fishes out OF the water aud
allow the spectators TO listen to Its grunt,
explaining that it could talk only when
under water. The fish was then returned
and some one would ask a question, upon
!. which a fish would dart 10 the surface and
- l,a